Prediction of HLA binding affinity is widely used to identify candidate T cell epitopes, and an affinity of 500 nM is routinely used as a threshold for peptide selection. However, the fraction (percentage) of peptides predicted to bind with affinities of 500 nM varies by allele. For example, of a large collection of ~30,000 dengue virus-derived peptides only 0.3% were predicted to bind HLA A*01...

Receptor specificity of influenza A/H5 viruses including human 2003-04 isolates was studied. All but two isolates preserved high affinity to Sia2-3Gal (avian-like) receptors. However, two isolates (February, 2003, Hong Kong) demonstrated decreased affinity to Sia2-3Gal and moderate affinity to a Sia2-6Gal (human-like) receptors. These two viruses had a unique Ser227-Asn change in the hemaggluti...

Indigenous populations of the Tibetan plateau have attracted much attention for their good performance at extreme high altitude. Most genetic studies of Tibetan adaptations have used genetic variation data at the genome scale, while genetic inferences about their demography and population structure are largely based on uniparental markers. To provide genome-wide information on population struct...

The function and activity of a protein are often modulated by other proteins with which it interacts. This review is intended as a practical guide to the analysis of such protein-protein interactions. We discuss biochemical methods such as protein affinity chromatography, affinity blotting, coimmunoprecipitation, and cross-linking; molecular biological methods such as protein probing, the two-h...

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin is synthesized by toxic clones grown anaerobically on ganglioside affinity filters. The toxin binds to the filters and is detected by reaction with 125I-immunoglobulin G from type-specific antitoxin. Toxin spots from culture filtrates were similarly identified. The C. botulinum type C and D strains were selected for developing this affinity filter assay because ...

Indigenous populations of the Tibetan plateau have attracted much attention for their good performance at extreme high altitude. Most genetic studies of Tibetan adaptations have used genetic variation data at the genome scale, while genetic inferences about their demography and population structure are largely based on uniparental markers. To provide genome-wide information on population struct...

Gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection (STI), following Chlamydia. Neisseria gonorrhoeae resistant to antibiotics are increasing globally in world. In recent years, many studies have reported reduced susceptibility of N.gonorrhoeae almost all clinically useful and also cases multi-resistance. Resistance mechanisms for N. can occur through genetic non-geneti...

A novel selection method for the acquisition of DNA aptamers that selectively recognize resorufin using on-chip selection in combination with method for point mutations has been developed. This method proved efficient for selection for DNA aptamers of single-stranded oligo-DNAs. A genetic algorithm was applied to produce oligonucleotides for the combinatorial library. A fluorescent molecule, re...

Mutations in the arabinose transport operons of Escherichia coli K-12 were isolated with the Mu lac phage by screening for cells in which beta-galactosidase is induced in the presence of L-arabinose. Standard genetic techniques were then used to isolate numerous mutations in either of the two transport systems. Complementation tests revealed only one gene, araE, in the low-affinity arabinose up...

We describe the genetic and kinetic defects for a low-affinity fast channel disease of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) that causes a myasthenic syndrome. In two unrelated patients with very small miniature end plate (EP) potentials, but with normal EP AChR density and normal EP ultrastructure, patch-clamp studies demonstrated infrequent AChR channel events, diminished channel reopenings durin...